12-8-80 interview--Dave Sholin remembers

Bay Area radio personality Dave Sholin has a singular distinction in
rock history: He's the last person to interview John Lennon.

"It's a distinction I frankly wish wouldn't have happened," Sholin said
this week. "I wish there had been many interviews to follow mine. The
interview I would have rather conducted was a few months ago, when John
would have celebrated his 65th birthday. But there's no way to change
history."

Twenty-five years ago today, on Dec. 8, 1980, the 40-year-old Lennon
was murdered outside the Dakota, the landmark apartment building in New
York City where he lived with Yoko Ono and their son, Sean.

Hours before the shocking killing, Sholin, then music director for the
RKO radio chain, spent the afternoon interviewing the ex-Beatle in his
and Ono's apartment in the Dakota.

Brimming with high hopes and enthusiasm, Lennon talked with Sholin for
three hours about his new album, "Double Fantasy," his first in five
years, his experience as a house husband and his return to music.

"His focus was not on all the Beatle stuff that he'd been through a
zillion times," Sholin recalled. "The focus was on his time with Sean,
his relationship with Yoko, the new album. We had a great interview."

Afterward, on his way to the airport, Sholin gave Lennon a lift to the
recording studio. As they drove, Lennon continued to be upbeat. He
acknowledged the influence of early rockers like Little Richard. And he
had only nice things to say about former Beatles bandmate Paul
McCartney, maintaining that their "feud" had been overblown in the
media.

But he wasn't interested in rehashing old times. His focus was on the
future.

"He was so excited, so open," Sholin recalled. "Of all the interviews
I'd done, this was the best. We were elated. It was just tremendous."

But Sholin's elation would be short-lived.

After landing in San Francisco that night, he got in his car at the
airport and started driving home. He turned on the radio to KFRC, the
rock station where he occasionally worked as a disc jockey.

He was surprised that the top 40 station was playing an old Beatles
song. And he was stunned when the DJ came on to say that Lennon had
been shot to death by Mark David Chapman, a deranged fan, as he
returned home to the Dakota that night.

"I had to make sure that I wasn't in the middle of a nightmare," he
remembered. "I pulled over to the side of the road for a moment, and
then I realized that this was actually happening."

Sholin didn't get any sleep that night. Everyone wanted to interview
him about John Lennon's last interview.

"You wake up in the morning with your whole day planned out, your life
is going one way, then things change," he said. "In John's words, 'Life
is what happens while you're making other plans.'"

Sholin, now in his late 50s, is senior director of national promotion
for EMI Music Collective. He lives in Pacifica. His father, Hy, is a
resident of Terra Linda.

On the 25th anniversary of Lennon's death, he's in demand again, doing
local and national media interviews.

I interviewed Sholin the day after Lennon was killed, and was eager to
speak to him again a quarter century later because he remains our
connection to Lennon's last hours.

For the generation that revered John Lennon as a working class hero,
it's some consolation to hear Sholin talking about what an exhilarating
experience that last interview was, that Lennon died looking ahead,
with optimism and hope.

"The only bright spot is that we did have all that time with John and
were able to record it for history for people to hear," Sholin said.
"Over the years, I've heard how he had been talking about death before
he died. But what still stands out for me is that he had such great
plans, musically and artistically.

"He couldn't have been more positive and excited about what was to
come."